40th Annual Tejano Super Show

As founder of Taste of Latin C.C. in 1972, he has sustained the club’s charter to present day and along the way, saw to its induction into the LRM Car Club Hall of Fame. As if that wasn’t enough, he also earned the right to have his ‘64 Impala, “Odessa’s Masterpiece,” featured in the pages of LRM as a centerfold in 1980, and secured a father and son dual car feature in 2011. Even with these personal and lifelong achievements under his belt, this 2006 LRM Hall of Fame inductee has reached a pinnacle once again. Who could have imagined that a small Cinco de Mayo car show held in 1972 would evolve to be known as one of the best Lowrider shows in the country?

On November 19th and 20th, Nick Hernandez, as Texas Tours Entertainment, set his latest milestone in presenting the 40th Annual Tejano Super Car Show. “The show sold out weeks earlier, as participants were eager to participate in this historical two day event,” mentions the legendary promoter. The Ector County Coliseum was the site for the 400 entries that packed the seven buildings and fairgrounds. The spectators were treated with a taste of the LRM Las Vegas SuperShow with Albert DeAlba’s 2011 LRM Car of the Year, “El Rey,” featured in the Legends building. The renowned family made the trip from Cali to the booming oil city for all of the Tejanos in attendance to admire this immaculate ’63 bowtie. Also on hand was the 2011 LRM Truck of the Year, “Krazy Kreation.” Texas’ own, Juan Sifuentes, brought home the gold from Sin City with his radical three time champion. Last year’s TTE top winner, Junior Garcia’s ’64 Impala, “Guilty Pleasure,” made its Odessa return to defend the Lone Star title. With MotorSport Showcase judges evaluating the stiff competition, the Imperials member closely edged the top contenders for his second consecutive Best of Show win!

This super event is not complete without the annual Texas Death Match. Rick and Juliet Carrera, of Old Memories C.C., kept the jam packed event unbiased and organized throughout the weekend, beginning on Saturday with many of the state’s best street contenders. The Street class competition was tight, as the top three finalists went for broke, or as they say, “’til it breaks.” The end result was Sergio Ramirez ’87 Regal hitting a show record 59 inches! On Sunday, over a dozen radical hoppers competed for the TDM titles. Last year’s Street class winner, Patrick Montoya, took home the Truck class championship, hitting 98 inches in his ’81 Elco. In the Super Street class, last year’s champ, Luis Aranda, thought he had enough with a personal best of 80 inches. But, Eli Esparza wasn’t intimidated as he pounded the back bumper on his ’63 Impala to an impressive 110 inches for the first place finish!

Unprecedented in its 40 years, TTE presented a weekend event that included two nights of concerts on three stages. On Saturday night, the main stage opened up with the stringed acoustic rancheras of Mariachi Bronco, followed by the cumbia sounds of Juan Sanchez y Erupcion. And how better to end this huge Tex-Mex night, than with the four time Grammy Award winner and “King of the Brown Sound,” the legendary Little Joe y La Familia. Sunday’s main stage kicked off with the Pocos Pero Locos ensemble of today’s Latino Hip Hop and Rap artists, followed by Nastyboy Records recording artist MC Magic. This Phoenix-based Mexican rapper never fails in giving a great “Magic City” show. The concert continued with the raw beats of the underground genre, starting with TopNotch Media’s artist Rekluse, and ending with Port Arthur legend Bun B. This “UnderGround King” closed out the show with his unrivaled lyrics off his Trill4 album.

Texas Tours Entertainment wishes to thank all of the exhibitors, car clubs, and numerous sponsors to include B93, Malhotra Law Firm, NewsWest 9, O’reilly’s Auto, and BBS Collision for their continued support. At the end of the night, LRM asked Nick about his future plans: “In reaching the 40th, is this a good time to retire on top?” Without hesitation he replied, “Not yet, haven’t quite reached the golden 50th.” LRM has no doubt that new goal will be reached and surpassed! Paz, Tejas